Bought a boat blind for my 18ft boat I find with the bracket for the flip up I lose five feet I was thinking of selling the pop up blind and building a permanent blind on the boat removable in off season. Anyone got a permanent blind on their boats and do you think they are better than flip ups ???

I have hunted from custom made flip up blinds (no wasted space) and MudBuddy QuickFlips. That is what I have on my 18' boat now. I have the long shoot opening (12'2"). While it doesn't stretch absolutely from bow to stern the "lost space", as you refer to it, is marginal anyway. Another key is the mounting hardware. If you have a blind with bars that span from gunwale to gunwale you will have something you have to step and stumble over. I have mounts for my MB which do not have this bar and the result is a blind you can walk around when folded...not step over.

hey there country boy: On the inside of the boat the flip up brackets make the inside usable area of my boat 13 ft losing 5 feet of useable boat space. I hade a 14 foot boat before and had just as much room with a permanent blind on it. My concern was that my flip up blind doesn't gain me anything. I could have stayed with the smaller boat, sure not as wide, and stable but I had just as much workable room.

I put mine on a 16' boat and I lost maybe 1' at the most. It seems to me that if you use a permanent blind that if you use natural vegetation as camouflage you would blow it off going back and forth to the lake. You asked what we thought and that is what I think.

I have a 1600 series beavertail blind on my boat. The blind works extremely well and is also windproof but the cross bars are a pain. I like the new mud buddy design with the post mount. They seemed to have found a way around the cross bar dilemma. This is especially key if you plan on doing any openwater gunning and new to anchor off the bow. Really tough getting to the anchor line with that cross bar in the way. For marsh hunting though I cannot complain about the blind at all.

Also if you plan on running a tiller outboard, you might need to get an extension handle (have not found a good one yet) so you can run the motor because again the cross bars could be in the way depending on motor, and how the blind fits your specific boat.

I would recommend the beavertail as it is extremely well made, works great and is a great blind for its intended purpose. It literally takes less than 5 seconds to flip the blind up and down and you are gunning. I have never had any need to add any vegetation to blind. the blind is on a 16' deep V and is used in New England salt marshes where the black duck reins king. We decoy blacks regularly. Black ducks are the waryest duck in the marsh and they just don't see you in this blind. The cross bars are the only drawback.

I have hunted both types and through trial and error have come to the conclusion that you can build the best of both worlds. I built a permanant flip up. Again, through trial and error I have found that you would be better using only as much of the boat as needed for shooting. The smaller the profile the ducks can see the better. I hide the front and back of the boat with camonet and burlap. I have 6' of shooting area on a 14' flat, powered bv a 25hp Go-Devil. Wrapped the blind part with fast grass, as sprayed the grass green and brown to match the surroundings.

THERE IS ALWAYS A PLACE FOR God'S CREATURES, "RIGHT NEXT TO THE RICE."

Yes - I have one on my 14 ft Jon - the only problem I have with it - is that I installed it on the boat without the motor installed on the transom - so I forgot to compensate for it when I was installing it. Now the back/top of the blind lays across the top of my outboard when operating the boat with it down - and its a pain in the butt to install the outboard.

If you install one - make sure the back/top bar is forward enough to clear your outboard when it is down - also - make sure you have enough clearence to not hit your tiller handle when you put it up either.

Bottom line is its a nice blind - very light - looks nice when its up - but make sure your boat is equiped when everything before you drill it into your gunwales - me - this spring - I am going to reattach it so it clears my outboard.

Right after I posted I went to my pic files to look for a pic for you...but I didnt have any. Its raining pretty hard today so I wont be able to take one today. I will take a few pics of the blind next Saturday. (Its too dark everyday when I get home from work)

Yes - I have the windblocker fabric but I dont have the top. I purchased this blind a few years ago - so the new ones maybe different. The blind material that comes with the blind is very good - I believe its been 5 years now and the material is still pretty good. Its faded some - but there is no rot whatsoever. Some of that other material out there...like the HS Die-cut came fabric rots out in a year.

After this year - if I keep my current boat set up - I will line the outside with Averys Killer Weed - Saw a few boats with it this year and the stuff looks great.

hay TR .the kid and I build our own(thats half the fun of it to me and part of duck hunting religion that my family has past on) and Ive had problems of different kinds with both,other than motor problemswich is the worst 1 of all. last 2 years we have had a homemade fold up on an old 12ft. lowe vbottom using sewn on veg. from our area,sewn onto hevy old steel hauler canves (the canvas serves dual purpose of keeping out the weather and shot if others are two close and is still lighter than plywood) and I will have to resew new veg on this next seson but it folds over and down nicely and ya dont lose any of the veg. going down the raod,and i have pulled it down the interstate at 65mph and not lost thveg.off of it.I will try to post some pics as soon as i find where I put them from inside and out of the blind. just remember to have the motor on the boat when your building and check for steering movement through out the proses, :toofunny: (2different rigs I seen last year forgot that little detail and looked greet but absolutly no steering capability) good luck to you in your serch for the rite style of blind for ya.

Right after I posted I went to my pic files to look for a pic for you...but I didnt have any. Its raining pretty hard today so I wont be able to take one today. I will take a few pics of the blind next Saturday. (Its too dark everyday when I get home from work)

Yes - I have the windblocker fabric but I dont have the top. I purchased this blind a few years ago - so the new ones maybe different. The blind material that comes with the blind is very good - I believe its been 5 years now and the material is still pretty good. Its faded some - but there is no rot whatsoever. Some of that other material out there...like the HS Die-cut came fabric rots out in a year.

After this year - if I keep my current boat set up - I will line the outside with Averys Killer Weed - Saw a few boats with it this year and the stuff looks great.